Brian Anderson leads the Marlins offensive charge

If the Marlins are going to be a better scoring team in 2019, third baseman Brian Anderson will be asked to do more at the plate this season.

Brian Anderson had what many of the Marlins insiders would consider a very solid rookie season in 2018. A .273 batting average with 11 homes runs and 65 RBI while collecting 183 hits on the season. He finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. This season, however, the organization is going to need to see more from the third baseman as he will be called upon to add more power from the second spot in the batting order.

According to MLB.com, Anderson could be the offensive catalyst for the Marlins this season. If Miami is going to move up in the National League East standings this season, No. 15 will lead the way.

“Now that J.T. Realmuto has been traded to the Phillies, Anderson is the new face of the franchise,” Joe Frisaro wrote of the 25-year-old. “…with the ability to hit to all fields, he is one of the top young third basemen in the National League.”

Anderson, who stands 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, has the potential to add some weight to his frame, which could mean more balls sail into the centerfield bleachers in Marlins Park. He is one of the cornerstone players the organization plans to build around for the foreseeable future.

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Per Frisaro, as a rookie in 2018, Anderson hit .367 with runners in scoring position.

Anderson was a third-round draft pick in 2014 out of Arkansas and has steadily progressed through the team’s minor league system. He impressed the team enough in camp last season to not only be named the team’s starter at the hot corner, but he also spent time in right field as well.

The Marlins won’t count on just Anderson for their offensive showcase. The improved hitting and power from Lewis Brinson and the return of Garrett Cooper from a wrist injury that took away most of his 2018 season should help the cause.

While his second half of 2018 wasn’t as prolific as the first, there was still plenty of things to get excited about with the chance for Anderson to be even better this year in the starting lineup.

“For me, it’s more of getting on base, moving runners over and let those guys behind me drive me in,” Anderson said about hitting second. “I think that’s something nice to have up there in the two-hole. You try to be somebody that you can’t get shifted against that much.”